“Life doesn't always come with smooth trails and easy choices. Sometimes it takes a broken road to bring us where we need to be. Our broken roads brought us to each other first. To Hannah's Hope”~Thea
To Thea, Wishing Bridge was just a temporary stop-over to her dream road. What she didn't anticipate was how it got hold of her heart and made her wish for things she never thought she'd have. Spending most of her growing up years in Hannah's Hope foster home along with her two best friends, Kelsey & Jazz, has her disillusioned to anything permanent. Along with her less than stellar childhood under the care of a druggie mom, made her jaded for anything good. That is until this small town feel gave her hope for a brighter future. Along with Maggie and Jeb who opened their hearts & home to her.
“And after years of nothing even close to charming, the quaint town was calling to her. The question was—Did she dare answer?”
Then there's her temporary partner in the business—Ethan. He has goals, big ones, to return to Chicago and a prestigious job in a major hospital doing genetic research. It's what he was born to do, or so he thinks. Until God derails his plans and he became a parent to his niece & nephew after the untimely accident that killed their parents almost a year ago. Setting down roots in Wishing Bridge was suppose to be a short term time of regrouping and redefining the new “normal” for this unlikely family. When the time comes, will he be able to uproot the kids and sever all ties to a town that gets under your skin? A bond not so easily broken!
“A family. Not by blood. But by love. And maybe that was the best kind of family to have.”
This story is so emotionally packed and snags you from the start. Having read “Welcome to Wishing Bridge”, I was long anticipating Thea's story! And it's not just Thea...but Jazz, Kelsey & Hale, Ethan, Mara, Keegan, Max, Maggie & Jeb and a new cast of characters that I was looking forward to reconnecting with. The depth of this story will sweep you away and make you wish that the town of Wishing Bridge was a real place to visit. The town that embraces its own and nobody is a stranger; it makes you feel right at home from the get-go. This also deals with some pretty heavy and downright ugly topics, but with the grace and gentleness I've come to expect from a Herne novel. I can read the authors God-given wisdom through the pages and her ever encouraging words in difficult situations. Her characters speak right to my own heart, embracing me in their love & devotion to each other. A bond of friendship that can't be broken by anything in this world. I'm already missing them! Definitely looking forward to the next installment when Jazz gets to tell her own story. Faith, love and hope is what this series is all about...and don't forget the hard won happily-ever-after!
*I received a complimentary copy from the author and NetGalley and was under no obligation to leave a favorable review. All opinions are my own. *